Sudden death of former Town Board member shocks community

Jan. 7, 2013

Mike Kelly / Courtesy of Sue Kelly

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Windsor resident and former town board member Mike Kelly died Dec. 30, shortly after being diagnosed with a sudden illness. He leaves behind his wife, Susan, and four sons ages 15 to 21.

Kelly served on the town board from 2006 to 2010, and was also employed as the CFO of Aims Community College.

“I sat next to Mike Kelly every Monday night for two years,” said Robert Bishop-Cotner, a current town board member who served with Kelly from 2008 to 2010. “He was a great guy.”

In an obituary written by Susan, she describes her husband as a man who reveled in living “large” in all aspects of his life — from setting up over-the-top Halloween decorations, to packing a car full of presents on Christmas shopping trips.

Born in Del Norte, Colo., Mike graduated from Colorado State University in 1984 before moving to New York to meet his then pen pal and future wife, Susan. The couple started their family in New York, where Mike acquired his CPA license and worked in several Manhattan firms.

The Kelly family moved to Windsor in 2004, fulfilling Mike’s wish to return to Colorado.

Bishop-Cotner said that Kelly was “very conscious” during his time on town board and “very dedicated to what he was doing.”

In addition to serving on Windsor’s Town Board, Kelly had also been involved with the Poudre Trail River Board, the Aims Foundation Board, the Colorado Department of Higher Ed CFO’s Board and the Colorado Diversified Trust Board.

Mike’s wife said the family had recently returned from vacation and he was in good health before recieving the diagnosis.

“It was pretty quick — unexpected,” Robert Bishop-Cotner said. “It’s one of those things that makes you stop and think a little bit.”

An email was sent out alerting friends of Kelly’s funeral arrangements, which include a wake on Friday, Jan. 4 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Mark’s Funeral Home, 9293 Eastman Park Dr., followed by a Saturday funeral service at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Windsor at 10 a.m.

A public luncheon will be held after the service in the church hall, where people who knew Mike are welcome to celebrate Mike’s life and, according to his obituary, bring happy memories.

If anyone would like to donate to the college Mike loved, checks may be made out to “Aims Foundation,” and given to the Kelly family or mailed to P.O. Box 69, Greeley, CO 80632.